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SOS MEDITERRANEE
Ethiopia
Country
20 Y.O.
Age
2024
Rescue Date
CONTENT WARNING: This testimony depicts extreme scenes of violence, including acts of torture.

Mercury*, 20 years old, had to leave Tigray due to the conflict. She decided to flee to Libya in the hope of finding work to support her family. Once in Libya, she was kidnapped and imprisoned several times.

“The smugglers took us to the Sahara desert and demanded money. After paying the smugglers, soldiers stopped us in the street and imprisoned us for a month in a prison in Koufra. Then they took us to Benghazi. We were transferred to another prison in Sirte, where we spent another month. Finally, they took us to Tripoli. The situation in prison was horrible, believe me.”

*The name has been changed to protect her anonymity.

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© SOS MEDITERRANEE / Alisha Vaya
SOS MEDITERRANEE / Alisha Vaya

Amani

Amani* is 23 years old and comes from Sudan. He was rescued on the 6th of November 2024 from a wooden boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region.

He was among 140 people on a double decker boat which was heavily overcrowded and listing dangerously when the team of the Ocean Viking arrived on scene.

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Camille Martin / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Alex

“What am I fighting for? For a future.”

At only 17 years old, Alex* fled the war-torn city of Bor in South Sudan alone. After a difficult journey across Sudan and Libya, he attempted to cross the central Mediterranean on an overcrowded wooden boat. Listen to his inspiring story, an incredible example of resilience.

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Johanna de Tessieres / SOS MEDITERRANEE

Ali

Ali*, an 8-year-old unaccompanied minor, was rescued by the Ocean Viking teams from an overcrowded rubber boat in the Libyan Search and Rescue Region on March 14, 2024, along with 87 other people.